CSR co-creation on digital platforms as a strategy to influence consumer happiness

Resumen

In the context of digitalization and the expansion of collaborative platforms, the logic of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is undergoing a process of structural transformation. The traditional company-centered and one-way communication approach is gradually being replaced by a co-creation model of responsibility in which consumers, communities, and digital platforms jointly participate in the generation of shared social value. This study analyses how the digital co-creation of platform-based CSR affects consumer happiness, considering the mediating role of collective emotions, social capital and perceived behavioral control. To this end, a structural equation model (PLS-SEM) is applied based on 517 questionnaires collected from active users of CSR platforms in China. The research findings show that the co-creation of digital CSR significantly improves consumers' collective emotions, social capital and perceived behavioural control, thereby affecting their hedonic and eudaimonic happiness. These findings provide a new perspective on how digital platforms can act as ecosystems of happiness, integrating well-being, social responsibility and civic participation into business strategy. Consequently, the study highlights the strategic value of digital participation mechanisms in CSR as catalysts for consumer happiness, providing theoretical and practical implications for the design of responsible management models.